Realm-A-Rooney
by Anonymousnette
Summary: It was supposed to be a normal family reunion until the daughter of Maleficent showed up on their doorstep... literally
1. Chapter 1

It was summer time in California, and it was about time for a family reunion after a whole year apart from one another. After a whole year on Broadway, for once Liv Rooney was actually glad that her mother had arranged this. She needed some time off, and she was looking forward to seeing her family. She approached the door and knocked on it.

"Liv!" her mom, Karen exclaimed.

"Hey mom!" Liv said as she hugged Karen. "How's everything going?"

"Everything's going fine. How about you? We haven't seen you since _Double Duchess_."

Liv thought for a moment. "It's going well. I was recently in Hamilton with two people named Cameron Dove and Hope Mitchell, and... well, I'll just wait until everyone gets here. It's so big I don't want to tell everyone twice."

"Well, everyone's here except Maddie , but she should be home anytime now."

Liv sighed in relief. "Good." As she walked into the living room, she saw Joey, Parker, and her dad, Pete, on the couch. "Hey!" After they greeted her, they chatted for a little bit. Joey has gotten his own gig at Quesadilla Joe's, Parker had done great in the Bio Dome, her dad had led his team to the championships, and Ruby was spending the summer at a theater camp.

Just then, Maddie walked through the door. "Anyone home?"

"Maddie!" Liv squealed as she ran up to hug her. "How is the tiny house project going?"

"It's going great," Maddie answered. "We've built over a hundred tiny houses. Diggie's still in New Orleans coordinating operations. How's Broadway going?"

" Well, when else's seated, I have news, " Liv answered. Once Maddie sat down, Liv turned to her family. "Well, they're coming out with a new musical based on _Sleeping Beauty_ , and I tried out for it."

"That's great honey!" Karen exclaimed.

"What role did you get?" Maddie asked.

"Well, I don't know yet, but I'm hoping for Aurora," Liv answered. "Since I'm took some time off to be here, they'll send my script and part of my costume."

"This calls for some pizza then," Pete said.

* * *

A few days later, Maddie was sitting on the sofa watching TV when the doorbell rang.

"It's here!" Liv squealed as she ran to the door and opened it.

"I've got a package for Liv Rooney," Maddie overheard the mailman say.

"That's me! I'm Liv Rooney," Liv answered.

"Sign here."

Once Liv sighed and received the package, she closed the door and rushed to the stairs. "I'll be in our room of you need me!"

"Okay," Maddie called back.

A few minutes later, she heard her sister trudging down the stairs. "THEY CASTED ME AS MALEFICENT!"

Maddie looked up to see Liv wearing a cape and horns, and carrying a scepter. "Wow."

"Yeah, and I don't like it!" Liv exclaimed as she walked towards the sofa.

Maddie got up. "Alright, calm down, let's think about some good things that are going to benefit from this." _Even though I can't think of any at the moment_ , Maddie thought to herself.

Liv raised her hand. "Maddie, Maleficent is the worst of the worst. She..."

It was just at that moment that they saw a blinding flash of light from the window. Seeing that there wasn't a cloud in the sky, they decided to investigate. Once they got out the door, what they saw made them stop in their tracks.

"No way..." Liv said.

"This cannot be happening..." Maddie added.


	2. Chapter 2

In front of them, were two people and some sort of swirling vortex. One of the two people in front of them had straight purple hair, jeans, a leather jacket, and boots. The other one had horns, a robe, and was carrying a scepter. In fact, she looked a lot like Maleficent, except without the green skin.

"You'll never win, mother!" the purple-haired girl said. Liv and Maddie turned to face each other. _Mother_? They then turned back to the scene in front of them.

"Oh Mal, you're so pathetic," the woman dressed like Maleficent said. "Do you really think a little portal will stop me? Besides, you need me."

The girl named Mal glared. "Why would I need you?"

The Maleficent - woman sneered. "Well, I'm the only one who knows what happened to your boyfriend."

Mal growled. "What?!"

"Incoming!" a voice yelled, one that was very familiar to Maddie and Liv. The next thing they knew, the girl and the woman dodged a ball of fire, smoke, and metal as it zipped into the portal.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Maleficent exclaimed as she looked around. She soon noticed Liv and Maddie staring at the two of them and walked up to them. "Who are you two?" She waved her staff in between them until it landed on Liv. "And why are you dressed like me?!"

"Oh well..." Liv started, thinking that this was just some actress that was angry at not getting the part of Maleficent. "I know you must be a little angry at not getting the part, but I'd be happy to give it..."

Just then, Joey and Parker came running up to them.

"Sorry about that!" Joey called out.

"We were just building a rocket and..." Parker started to say, but then noticed the situation in front of them. "Oh."

Maleficent merely glanced at the two boys, then returned her attention to Liv and Maddie. "How dare you insult me with this mockery?!" She slammed her staff on the ground and a green lightning bolt came out of it. Maddie and Liv dodged the bolt, but it scorched the ground in between them.

"Leave them alone!" Mal exclaimed.

"And what say do you think you have in all of this?" Maleficent questioned.

"Maddie, I think that's the real Maleficent," Liv whispered as she turned to Maddie.

"But that's impossible!" Maddie whispered back. Just then, they heard a roar. Apparently, Mal had decided to turn into a dragon.

"I knew the dragons would be coming eventually!" Joey shouted.

"Well, look at you!" Maleficent exclaimed mockingly. "You finally learned how to transform into a dragon, just like your dear old mummy!" Mal shrieked.

Maleficent smirked. "Well, if you want to fight that way..." Just then , the vortex flickered. Maleficent raised her staff and teleported closer to the vortex. "Well, this has been fun, but I really must be going now." She jumped through the vortex just as it disappeared. Mal transformed back into herself and fell on her knees. Liv and Maddie ran towards her.

"Hey, are you okay?" Maddie asked.

"Yeah," Mal said as she got up. "Where in Auradon am I?"

Maddie raised an eyebrow. "Auradon?"

"Yeah, Auradon," Mal sassily said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Liv and Maddie looked at each other, then looked back at Mal.

"You're not in Auradon," Maddie said.

Mal's eyes seemed to widen in panic. "Then where am I?"

"You're in Los Angeles... California," Liv answered.

* * *

Mal anxiously paced the living room. She had introduced herself to the twins, Liv and Maddie, who had strangely looked a lot like her, and their brothers, who had introduced themselves as Joey and Parker. They had invited her inside, but that didn't calm her down. What happened? When she was fighting her mother, she was pushed into some kind of portal. Did Maleficent merely transport her to another country, or was this another realm all together? Was Auradon far away? Did it even exist in this world? And if Maleficent had Ben...

The girl named Liv came down the stairs, no longer wearing horns and a cape. "How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?!" Mal snapped, her emotions taking over. "I'm stuck in a faraway land, my mother is probably taking over Auradon, and my boyfriend is missing, and you have the nerve to ask how I'm doing? Well, I'm doing terrible, okay!" She flopped down on the couch.

"Okay then," Liv said with a nervous giggle. Then, she walked to the couch. "You want to talk about it?"

Mal shrugged. "Not really."

" So, let me get this straight, " Parker, who had walked in with Maddie and Joey earlier. "You're from this magical..." He waved his hands for emphasis on _magical._ "... land called Auradon, and you can turn into a dragon."

"Yep," Mal answered , popping the p. She so wasn't in the mood for this right now. "What's so unbelievably about that?"

"Look, as much as I want to question this, now is not the time," Maddie said, stepping forward. "I just can't believe that we look so much like each other."

"I know," Liv said. "It's like mom had a triplet she never told us about."

"Or like my mom had two triplets that she never told me about," Mal said. She was already starting to feel better.

Maddie's eyes widened. "Wait... do you think..."

"It can't be... can it?" Liv asked.

"Well, we've seen our birth certificates," Maddie said.

"And since you two don't have magic..." Mal said.

" Coincidence," they all said simultaneously.

"Well, I say we make Mal an honorary triplet, and show her around town," Liv suggested.

"And I know exactly what we can do afterwards!" Joey exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

Trumpet music erupted from the screen as Mal smirked. "I win again." After the girls' day out on the town, Joey had suggested that they play his favorite video game: Magic 202. Unfortunately for him, despite being a level 90 necromancer, Mal beat him for the tenth time.

"How is that possible?!" Joey exclaimed as he threw his hands in the air. "I'm level 90!"

Mal just continued smirking. "It takes a dragon to know one. Want to play again?"

Liv, Maddie, Joey, and Parker gently put their controllers down and slowly leaned back. Mal was a fierce player and took her gaming seriously.

"How did you get so good?" Maddie asked in amazement.

Mal merely shrugged. "Guess I was good at video games and didn't even know it. Of course, the real gamer among my friends is Carlos."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "Whose Carlos?"

"Son of Cruella De Vil," Mal answered. "He's really good with Technology stuff. He once even broke a hole in the barrier."

"What barrier?" Liv asked.

So, Mal explained about the Isle of the Lost, where she grew up. " Nobody could escape, until..." She suddenly grew quiet and looked down at her hands.

Before Maddie could ask if something was wrong, they heard the door open.

"Kids, we're home!" Pete said as he walked in. Liv and Maddie exchanged looks. Their parents had been on a date all day, and Liv and Maddie had forgotten what time they were coming back, until now. Hopefully, Mal wouldn't say anything about Auradon. If she did, who knows what might happen.

Karen walked in the room and noticed Mal. "Now who is this? You never told me you were going to invite someone over." Maddie gave an internal sigh of relief. Her mom didn't sound angry, then again, why should she? Herself, Liv and Joey were adults now. They could take care of themselves and supervise if Parker has someone over. No, she sounded more curious. The worst that could happen at this point was that Karen would want to show Mal their baby pictures.

"She's a friend from Broadway," Liv answered. "Her name's... Malkiah."

"But I go by Mal," Mal said.

"Nice to meet you Mal," Karen said , sticking her hand out. "I'm Karen Rooney, Liv's mom.

Mal shook Karen's hand before Liv spoke again. "Is it alright if she stays here for a few days?"

"I don't see why not," Karen said. "But we don't have a bed for her."

"We could use Ruby's bed," Maddie suggested. "I'm sure Ruby and Aunt Dena won't mind." Aunt Dena had gone... well, Maddie wasn't sure what it was called, but she called it a hippie fest.

"Good idea Maddie," Karen said. "Now, why don't you all get to bed. It's past Parker's bedtime."

"Mom!" Parker exclaimed.

* * *

 _Mal couldn't tell where she was. The fog was too thick for her to see anything, but be_ _fore she could take a step further, someone called her name. "Mal."_

 _She instantly recognized the voice. "Ben?"_

 _"Mal."_

 _She looked around. "Ben?"_

 _Some of the fog parted, revealing her boyfriend. "Mal."_

 _She turned towards the voice and saw him. "Ben!"_

 _They started to run towards each other, but all of a sudden, Maleficent rose out of the fog, laughing evilly. "Oh, you want your boyfriend, do you? Well too bad! Because you'll never see him again!" Looking her terrified daughter in the eyes, she shrieked victoriously._

* * *

"Ben!" Mal bolted upright in bed in a cold sweat. Her glowing eyes darted around the room, examining everything and wondering why she wasn't at Auradon Prep. Then, the events of yesterday went crashing down on her: Her mother wasn't a lizard anymore, she had tried to defeat her by conjuring a portal, but she got pushed in instead, and her mother left her in this place called Los Angeles, California, where she was staying with the twins and their family.

"Mal?" Liv said as she woke up.

Maddie also woke up. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Mal answered . "Go back to sleep."

However, Liv and Maddie didn't seem convinced.

"Are you sure you're ok?" Liv asked.

"Yeah, no one screams 'Ben' in the middle of the night unless something's wrong," Maddie chimed in. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Just then, Joey and Parker walked into the room and turned the light on.

"What's going on?" Parker asked.

"Yeah, we woke up to some screaming 'Beh!'" Joey added.

"His name is Ben," Mal snapped before taking a deep breath. They had already let her stay, and the least she could do was answer their questions. "Yeah it would be nice to talk about it." Everyone moved towards the bed. "Remember when I told you about the Isle? Well, a few days ago, there was some activity near the barrier, so Ben, the king of Auradon, went to check it out. He's been missing ever since."

"And you're close with King Ben?" Liv gently asked.

Mal nodded. "Yeah. Actually... he's my boyfriend."

"Whoa!" Maddie exclaimed as she put her hands up. "How old are you?"

"We're the same age, " Mal reassured, in case they were getting the wrong idea. "Sixteen."

Parker raised an eyebrow. "They made a sixteen year old king?"

Mal nodded. "It's a long story, but yeah. Anyways, a villain got out, and freed my mom from her... prison. And now that she's loose, all of my friends and Ben are in trouble, and I can't remember how to open the portal, so I can't help them." At this moment she was holding back tears, thinking about all the horrible things her mother might be doing and the fact that she couldn't do anything about it.

Liv crawled towards Mal and put an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll find a way for you to get back."

Parker stood up and sighed. "Fine, I suppose I could create a wormhole that could bring us to Auradon."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Us?"

"You don't think we would let you face your mom by yourself, did you?" Maddie asked as she tilted her head.

Mal's eyes widened as she shook her head. "No, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Mal, you're our honorary sister," Liv said. "We would do anything we can to help."

"It's what families do," Maddie added.

"And I want to see the dragons!" Joey exclaimed. Everyone in the room glared at him. "I mean... We don't want you to get hurt."

Mal was surprised. Sure, she often thought of Evie, Jay, and Carlos as family, but she had never thought that people who she had just met hours ago would consider her as family. "Thanks."

Just then, Karen and Pete walked in.

"What's going on?" Karen asked.

"What are you all doing our of bed?" Pete added.

" Mal had a nightmare, but don't worry mom and dad, " Maddie said. "We got this."


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Parker made a makeshift lab outside of the house, and him and Joey set out to create a wormhole. They were going to do anything they could to find Auradon.

"The first things we need are dipole magnets, quadrupole magnets, and cathode ray tubes," Parker stated.

"And I have no idea what you just said," Joey replied. Naturally, he didn't know anything about science.

Parker waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind, all you need to know is that we need to go to the junkyard."

Joey raised an eyebrow. "The junkyard?" Then, he smiled. "Goodie!"

Parker's eyes widened. "You actually want to go dumpster diving?"

Joey thought for a moment, then wrinkled his nose. "Well, once you put it that way..."

"We need some way to..." Parker started to say before Maddie walked into the lab.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Maddie asked. Parker and Joey shared a sly grin, then looked at her. "Why are you two looking at me like that?"

* * *

Maddie groaned as she climbed out of a smelly dump pile. "When you said we were going to a dump, I didn't know I would be doing all the work." Since she had nothing else to do, she agreed to help with the wormhole, but she didn't know it would involve dumpster diving.

Parker and Joey stood to the side, choosing to let their sister do the dirty work. "Just keep looking until you find a box television!" Parker said.

Joey looked up. "Why are there a lot of seagulls here?"

"They're probably looking for something to eat. I think I saw one eating an old french fry," Maddie said before searching again. "I don't even see the point of this. How do we know that Auradon's even real? "

Joey looked shocked. "Are you kidding me? Mal turned into a dragon!"

"Scientists have found out how to put jellyfish genes into mice," Parker said. "Maybe Mal had some... lizard and bat genes."

"Well, what about Maleficent's lightning? " Joey retorted. "How do you explain that?"

Parker shrugged. "Simple plasma."

"Through a ball?!" Joey exclaimed. Then he took out a cracker. "Well, while you two hypocrites do your thing, I'm going to have my snack."

Just as Joey was about to take a bite, Maddie looked up. "Uh, Joey?"

Joey and Parker looked up to see a flock of seagulls flying straight towards them.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

Liv have gotten up early that morning to rehearse her part, or at least try to. She still wasn't happy that she had to play Maleficent. In her opinion, but obviously not the producers', absolutely nothing about her screamed "I want to play a villain!" Nonetheless, she continued halfheartedly, reciting lines in her bedroom. "The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. But before the sun sets on her 16th birthday..."

Just then, Mal walked in. "Hey Liv."

Liv looked up. "Hey Mal, how are you doing?"

"Despite last night, I'm feeling better now," Mal answered. "I have a question for you."

Liv shrugged. Anything was better than rehearsing this part. "Sure, go ahead."

"Why were you dressed like my mother yesterday?" Mal asked.

Liv treaded this carefully. If Mal realized that her mother was a movie character, her reaction would not be pretty. "Well, they're making a musical based on Aurora, and I have to play Maleficent."

Mal wrinkled her nose. "What did you do to deserve that part?"

Liv sighed. "I have no idea. I tried out for Aurora, and I got Maleficent instead."

Mal shrugged. "Aurora's pretty nice. Her daughter, on the other hand..."

Liv raised an eyebrow. "What about her daughter?"

Mal heaved an annoyed sigh. "She's just so self-centered and full of herself. It's like she thinks the world revolves around her. What Ben saw in her in the first place, I have no idea." When Liv grew confused, Mal began to clarify. "She's also Ben's ex-girlfriend, though they have nothing in common."

"Well, guess he's lucky you came along then," Liv said with a smile.

Mal sighed. "Yeah, I guess he is..." Then, her expression grew somber.

Liv decided to change the conversation and motioned for her to sit down. "If you want, you can help me rehearse my lines. My manager's coming in two days to see my progress."

Mal shrugged and sat down. "Sure, I've got nothing else to do, although, I'm not really much for acting. What do you need help with?"

Liv sighed. "Everything. I've never played the villain before, and despite being an actress, I have no idea how to pull this off. "

Mal thought for a moment. "Well, I did live with my mother for sixteen years, maybe you can read your lines to me, and I can tell you how accurately you portray her."

"Okay," Liv said as she started to read her lines again. "Listen here all of you..."

Mal held up her hand. "Stop." Liv looked up while Mal thought for a moment. "Try being more... angry when you say that."

Liv nodded. "Listen here, all of you!" she shouted.

Mal put her hands up. "Okay... that's more of rage than anger."

"Liv? Are you alright honey?" Karen called from downstairs.

"I'm fine mom, just practicing my lines!" Liv called back before turning back to Mal. "What's the difference between rage and anger? Aren't they kind of the same thing?"

Mal smirked. "Trust me, when it comes to my mother, there's a big difference." Then, she thought for a moment. "Try imagining that there is a huge birthday party, and that you weren't invited, but at the same time you know you're going to get your revenge."

Liv paused before starting again. "Listen here, all of you! The princess shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, beloved by all who know her. But before the sun sets on her 16th birthday, she shall prick her finger - on the spindle of a spinning wheel - and DIE!"

Mal smirked. "You got it."


	5. Chapter 5

A bird poop-covered Parker backed into the makeshift lab as he waved his hands. "Alright, back it up, back it up..." Joey and Maddie, also covered in bird poop, followed Parker in, carrying a box television in between them. "And gently set it down." Joey and Maddie grunted as they set down the TV next to a kiddie table. Since they couldn't build an actual lab and it was too dangerous to do it in the house, Parker had set up a bunch of tarps for walls, put a kiddie table in, as well as a chest to hold parts, and a metal box to serve as the body for the contraption.

"Why did we have to carry that television anyways?" Maddie complained.

"Well, I would've carried the the other end if _somebody_ hadn't unleashed the seagulls on us, " Parker retorted.

"I was hungry! " Joey protested. "And besides, I didn't know that they would dive bomb us!"

Maddie held her hands up, trying to keep the peace. "Let's just be thankful we made it out of that alive. Why did you want a box TV again?"

" It's essential to create the wormhole. " Parker grabbed a tool box and knelt behind the TV. "I just need to get the ray tubes in it."

"Okay..." Maddie said, not quite understanding what he meant. "While you're doing that, I'm going to take a shower." Then she walked away.

"So, what do we need after the tubes?" Joey asked.

"We need dipole magnets and quadrupole magnets, " Parker said as he continued working.

Joey raised an eyebrow. "And how are we supposed to get those?"

"I can ask Val to get them from the school. She's helping out with summer camp there." Parker got two tubes out and handed them to Joey. "Can you hold these?"

Joey carefully took the tubes in his hands. "So, these have the power to take us to Auradon?"

Parker got up. "Well, they have the power to probably make a wormhole. However, Auradon still might not exist."

Joey sighed. What was it about Mal that his brother doubted? She seemed like she was telling the truth, and she turned into a freaking dragon. "Why do you still think that Auradon doesn't exist?"

Parker looked at Joey. "Look, fairy tales are just that, fairy tales. "

"But what if there was a possibility that they were true?" Joey said as he took a step forward. Unfortunately, he tripped over his shoelace, which just recently came untied, and fell to the ground. One of the tubes went flying out of his hand and smashed into a table, where it broke in two.

Parker breathed out an annoyed sigh. "This time, you're getting the television."

* * *

Maddie walked up the stairs to get a change of clothes before she hopped in the shower. However, the sound of laughing made her pause. Apparently, Mal and Liv were having fun in there. Biting back a hint of jealousy, she knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Liv's voice called from behind the door.

Maddie opened the door and walked in, seeing Liv and Mal sitting on the floor with Liv's script open. "Hey guys."

Both of the girls' mouths dropped open, and Liv stood up with a concerned look on her face, seeing Maddie's filthy condition. "Maddie, what happened?!"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Maddie said, the seagull attack instantly replaying in her mind. "So, what are you two up to?"

"Mal's just helping me with my lines," Liv answered.

"At times she even sounds like my mother," Mal chimed in.

Maddie held back another pang of jealousy. "Seems like it's going well then." She continued walking towards the dresser. "You know, I actually had a dream that Liv and I had a triplet." Wait, where had that come from?

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Maddie nodded. After all, now that she mentioned the dream, it was too late to turn back. "A few years ago, I tore my knee playing basketball, and to help me, my mom tried hypnosis therapy to get my confidence back. Unfortunately, as a side effect it made me have a really weird dream that Liv and I had an evil triplet named Helga."

"Now that I think about it, you did mention that to me once," Liv said. "Didn't she like, have telekinesis and take over the whole town basically?"

Maddie nodded. "Yep, that's pretty much it. Oh, and Joey and Parker had evil clones of themselves."

Mal's eyes widened. "Wow, some dream."

"More like nightmare," Maddie replied as she carefully took some fresh clothes out of her dresser. "Anyways, I better go take a shower now." Then, she walked out of the room and into the bathroom.

* * *

When Maddie walked back into her room, Mal was sitting comfortably cross-legged on her bed, with a notebook and pencil in hand, carefully drawing.

"Where's Liv?" Maddie asked.

"She had to take a phone call from someone named Ruby," Mal answered.

Maddie realized what she was talking about. "Oh yeah, she's our cousin. And sort of sister."

Mal raised an eyebrow. "Huhn?"

Maddie waved her hand. "It's a long story. Anyways, while you're here, wanna some hoops?"

'"Sure, what are hoops? " Mal asked.

Maddie's eyes widened. "You've never played basketball?!"

"In my defense, I've only been in Auradon for over six months," Mal said as she shrugged.

"Well then," Maddie said as she grabbed her basketball off her dresser. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"The object of the game is simple," Maddie said. She and Mal were now outside of the house near a basketball hoop. "You try to get as close to the hoop as possible and shoot the ball, like so..." She launched the ball, and it made it into the hoop, catching nothing but net.

Mal's eyes widened. "Wow."

Once Maddie showed Mal the basic moves, she decided to hold a one on one match with Mal. "Alright, let's see if you can get past me." Mal quickly maneuvered around Maddie, quickly stealing the ball and making a basket. Maddie's month dropped open. "Whoa!"

Mal just smirked. " It helps having some skills from the Isle. Want a rematch? "

"You're on!"


	6. Chapter 6

Once Liv got off the phone with Ruby, she went towards her room to check on her twin and honorary sister. However, to her suprise, she didn't see them in there when she opened the door. "Mal? Maddie?" She rushed downstairs. "Mal? Maddie?" She rushed towards the window, seeing Mal and Maddie playing basketball together. Sighing in relief, she decided to let them have some bonding time and walked to the makeshift lab to see how Joey and Parker were doing.

When she stepped into the lab, Parker and Joey walked through carrying one television and being just as filthy as Maddie was. "What did I miss?!"

"Oh, nothing much," Parker said, as he and Joey put down the TV next to the other one. "Just gathering materials."

Somehow, Liv got the message that Parker wasn't telling the full story. "Then why are you covered in bird poop?"

"Oh, that was because of a seagull attack," Joey answered.

Liv's eyes widened, not sure she heard that correctly. "Seagull attack?!"

"Well, it wouldn't have happened if _somebody_ hadn't gotten hungry!" Parker exclaimed while glaring at Joey.

"For the last time, I didn't expect them to dive bomb us!" Joey protested.

Liv held up her hands. "Time out. Start at the beginning." Once Parker and Joey explained what had happened, she was just as shocked as she was before. "It's a miracle you got out of that alive! "

"You're telling us!" Parker exclaimed as he walked over to the table and grabbed a tool box.

"At least I got rid of them by throwing crackers towards the dump," Joey added.

Parker crossed his arms. "Yeah, which made finding the first TV a lot harder."

Liv raised an eyebrow. She had noticed the other TV and was curious about it. "Why do you have two televisions anyways?"

Parker knelt down behind the second TV. "Well, I need cathode ray tubes, but Joey dropped one of the last two. So, now I have to get another one."

Joey shrugged. "It wasn't my fault that I tripped over my shoelace. Besides, why are you doing this anyways?"

Liv turned to Joey. "Joey, Mal's counting on us to get her back to Auradon!"

"I know, but he... " Joey pointed to Parker. "... doesn't think that Auradon's real."

"I just think that a fairy tale like land is a little... unbelievable," Parker said as he worked to get the ray tubes out.

Liv sighed. "Parker, we're just going to have to trust Mal. She doesn't look like she's lying."

"Maybe not lying..." Parker responded, his tone implying exactly what he was thinking.

Joey rolled his eyes. "She's not crazy Parker! Besides, you saw Mal turn into a dragon too!"

"I told you, she probably had lizard and bat genes injected into her as part of an experiment," Parker replied.

"That makes less sense to me than it does to you, right?" Joey whispered to Liv.

"Nope, doesn't make sense to me either," Liv whispered back.

Parker just rolled his eyes, indicating that he heard them as he handed two ray tubes to Liv. "Just hold these."

* * *

"Alright, two out of three, " Maddie said as she dribbled the ball in place.

Mal crossed her arms. "You mean twelve out of thirteen." They had lost count of how many games they had played, but Maddie knew one thing: Mal had beaten her almost every time.

Mal just shrugged. "Guess I'm a natural."

"Yeah, who knew?" Maddie remarked. "Especially for your first time."

"Like I said before, it helps having some skills from the Isle," Mal said. "In fact, you should play against Jay sometime."

"Jay? " Maddie questioned. She still didn't buy Mal's story on Auradon, but she was curious about who Jay was.

"Son of Jafar, and one of my best friends," Mal answered.

"One of them, huhn? " Maddie asked, growing more curious.

"Yeah, my other best friends are Evie and Carlos," Mal said. "Daughter of the Evil Queen and son of Cruella De Vil. We all consider each other siblings. Especially Evie. She's like the sister I never had." Then she sighed. "I wish I knew what was happening to them right now."

As much as Maddie doubted that Mal actually lived in a place called Auradon, she could tell that the distress on Mal's face was genuine. Even if Auradon didn't exist, Maddie could tell that Mal was coming from a bad situation. "I kind of know how you feel, well, at least the worrying about something bad happening part. Remember that dream I told you about?" Mal nodded. "Well, I never told Liv about this, but in that dream, I tried to wish that I wasn't a triplet to fix everything, and instead of getting rid of Helga, I accidentally got rid of Liv."

Mal's eyes widened. "Wow. I can't even imagine..."

"I know it was only a dream, " Maddie continued. "But when Helga ate the only thing that could fix that mess, I thought that I lost her forever. Even now, it scares me just to think about it."

Mal nodded. "I get what you mean. Last night I had a dream about Ben, but I guess you figured that out by now. Then my mother appeared, and she said that I would never see him again. And it's not just him I'm worried about. I know my mother. She'll stop at nothing until she takes over Auradon. Anyone could face her wrath."

Maddie still didn't completely believe Mal, but she put her hand on one of Mal's shoulders. "Hey, don't worry. Everything is going to be okay."


	7. Chapter 7

Two days later, Mal and Liv were sitting at a table outside. The sun was shining, the ocean was calm, and they were going over Liv's lines one last time before her producer came.

"I swear, you sound like my mother at times!" Mal exclaimed.

"I guess I born for the part after all," Liv remarked. Ever since Mal started helping her with her lines, she has been growing more confident in her role. She actually didn't mind playing Maleficent as much now. "I cannot thank you enough."

Mal shook her head. "It's no problem, really. Besides, you guys are helping me get back to Auradon, so we're even."

They didn't notice Maddie walk up to the table until she spoke. "Um, Liv, can I talk to you for a second?"

Liv nodded as she got up from the table. "Sure. I'll be right back Mal."

"Don't worry, take your time," Mal said. She knew that they could use some quality time alone together. Besides, as much as she likes being around the Rooneys, she needed some time for herself. As soon as the twins left, she took a look at the script, smirking as she read the words her mother said so long ago. "Oh, I can definitely picture my mother saying this..." She picked up the script and stood up. "Fools! Idiots! Imbeciles! Oh, they're hopeless. A disgrace to the forces of evil. My pet... you are my last hope. Circle far and wide... search for a maid of sixteen with hair of sunshine gold and lips red as the rose. Go, and do not fail me."

"Wonderful, just wonderful!" A voice said. Mal turned around to see a woman with red hair. "And I love your outfit. It really captures the Maleficent style."

Mal was instantly confused. "It should... I guess. Who are you again?"

The woman just laughed. "Very funny Liv. Come on, we're going to be late."

"Wait, I'm not Liv, I'm..." Mal tried to explain, still confused by who this woman was and what she wanted, but the woman had already grabbed Mal's hand and dragged her off.

* * *

Maddie lead Liv into the kitchen and turned around, peering through the window to make sure Mal wasn't paying attention before looking at Liv. "Liv, do you think that Mal's telling the truth?"

Liv was mildly confused by this. "What do you mean?"

" Well, I'm not saying that she's lying, but she might be... " Maddie hesitated, not sure how to tell Liv what she wanted to say next.

Liv furrowed her eyebrows. "You think Mal's crazy, don't you?"

Maddie immediately shook her head. "No, that's not what I'm saying at all! It's just that she probably had been through some kind of traumatic experience and is... confused."

Liv shook her head, looking annoyed. "Great, you and Parker. Maddie, we all saw Mal turn into a dragon."

"It could've been a trick of the light," Maddie said, sounding slightly less sure of the answer she gave.

"Great, first Parker and now my own sister," Liv muttered before looking back at Maddie. "And how would that be a trick of the light?"

"I don't know," Maddie answered. "But a world where Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White and other princesses live just... doesn't seem possible. Besides she could've picked those clothes up..." Maddie looked out the window, but Mal wasn't there. "Liv, where's Mal?"

Liv turned around and looked out the window, only to find that Mal wasn't there. They quickly walked out the door. "Where could she have gone?" Liv asked.

"I don't know," Maddie said. "She couldn't have gone far."

"I'll text Becky and tell her I'm going to be late. She..." Liv said as she pulled out her phone and look at the screen. "... was supposed be here two minutes ago." The twins looked like each other, knowing what each other was thinking.

"You don't think..." Maddie said before Liv added to the thought.

"Mal must've been reading my lines at the time," Liv said .

"But that still doesn't explain where they went," Maddie said.

Suddenly, Liv gasped. "Oh my gosh, with everything going on, I completely forgot. I'm supposed to attend an interview today about my role as Maleficent! On live television!"

"Let's go!" Maddie said as they rushed towards the car.

* * *

"Screwdriver?" Parker said as he held out his hand.

Joey handed the screwdriver to him. "Check."

"Wrench?"

"Check."

"Sandwich?" Joey held out the sandwich while Parker took a bite of it. After a few more twists, Parker pulled out from underneath the machine he had been working on practically non stop for the past two days. Now, it was time to test it. "Alright, stand back. If this doesn't work, it could get messy." Parker stood up and walked over to the back of the contraption, flipping a few switches before taking a step back. The particle accelerator started shaking a little before it hummed. "I think it's working!"

"Auradon here we come!" Joey exclaimed. However, they both spoke too soon. The particle accelerator coughed before shooting lighting at one of the curtans, causing the bottom of it to burst into flames. "Fire!" Luckily, they had brought buckets of water into the lab in case something like this should happen. Joey grabbed one bucket and splashed it onto the curtain, while Parker took another bucket and splashed it onto the machine to get it to stop coughing up smoke.

"Well, back to the drawing board," Parker said, looking at their failed experiment.

* * *

"I'm Keith Ortega, and welcome to Channel 30 Entertainment!" the host of the show said into the camera.

Mal was beyond confused. As soon as she was dragged into a limo, which surprisingly was bigger than Auradon's limos, the woman, whose name was apparently Becky, starting asking her a bunch of questions about some sort of interview for an upcoming musical. Mal just nodded and shook her head. Thankfully, Becky just thought it was nerves, since she thought the musical was going to be "bigger than Hamilton," whatever that meant. Once they got to the studio, Mal was whisked away into hair and makeup, where the makeup artists were just as relentless as Evie trying to get Mal ready for a date with Ben.

Now Mal was sitting in a studio, under bright studio lights, with not just one but three cameras seemed to be looking at her, and her face covered in layers of makeup. Behind her was the skyline of Los Angeles, which Mal didn't know how that was possible since there didn't seem to be any windows in the room.

"There are two things that America loves," Keith continued to say. "Disney and actress Liv Rooney. Well, I have Liv Rooney here who just got casted as Maleficent in the new musical _Sleeping Beauty,_ which is inspired by Walt Disney's 1959 film." Film? What film? "So tell us Liv, how did you feel when you were casted as Maleficent?"

"Well..." Mal said, trying to think about how Liv felt about the role, but she also knew from experience with the paparazzi that she should be careful with what she said. At least she didn't have to do any sit down interviews... until now. "I was surprised, to say the least. It... certainly wasn't what I was expecting." _Too nervous_ , Mal thought. _Try to be more perkier, like Liv._

"And what were you expecting?" Keith asked.

Mal pondered this , wondering if the sweat on her face was evident. "Well... Um... I guess I wasn't expecting anything in particular." _I hope Liv actually shows up soon,_ Mal thought. _Because I don't know if I can keep up the act any longer._

* * *

Once Liv and Maddie arrived at the studio, Liv lead Maddie to a door labeled _Backstage_ , where a buff security guard was standing. He held up his hand. "Sorry, but no one is allowed in there."

"But you don't understand, I'm Liv Rooney, " Liv said, slightly confused on why she wasn't allowed in there.

"Impossible," the security guard said. "Liv Rooney is already in there and on camera as we speak."

Liv and Maddie exchanged looks. Apparently, it was too late to do a switch-a-roo before the show started. "But that's not the real Liv Rooney! " Maddie exclaimed.

The guard scoffed. "And I was born yesterday. Now, why don't you just run along now."

Suddenly, Maddie got an idea. "No it's true, I had my interview today, but I already promised my parents that I would pick up our... second cousin from the airport. So, my sister, Maddie, volunteered to take my place until I got back."

The guard looked skeptical and pointed at Liv. "Then who is that?"

"This is our second cousin I went to pick up. She is from... the old country," Maddie answered. "She looks remarkably a lot like us, but she doesn't speak much English." Maddie elbowed Liv to signal her to pretend she doesn't understand anything they were talking about.

Luckily, Liv must've gotten the message. "I am Liv Rooney!" she repeated.

"She also wants to be just like me," Maddie continued. "She even made me put on these glasses so I would look like Maddie whenever I went out with her."

The guard thought for a moment. "Alright, you're clear." He opened the door for them and stepped to the side.

"Thank you!" Maddie said as she took hold of Liv's hand.

"I am Liv Rooney!" Liv called as they went through the doors. They were in.

* * *

"Well, now we go to a commercial break, but we will be back with Liv Rooney after this," Keith Ortega said. Mal slumped in her seat. She managed to pull it off, but barely. A lot of the questions had been about the musical, but she tried to answer them as best as she could, relying on the information she had from history class and from what her mother had told her. However, she was still confused about what they meant by movie. Was her mother just a fictional character? And if so, was she just a fictional character?

However, her thoughts were interrupted by a hissing sound. "Psst, psst."

Mal turned around and saw Liv and Maddie, hiding behind a curtain. Mal turned towards the host. "Um, I have to go to the bathroom."

"Alright, but hurry back," Keith said.

Mal got up from her seat and quickly walked off the set to where Liv and Maddie were standing. "Thank the gods you guys are here. I thought I was going to burst, and they keep mentioning something about a movie?"

Liv and Maddie exchanged looks before Liv spoke. "We'll explain everything later, but we have to switch before the next commercial break. I already got my makeup on, all we need to do is switch clothes and find some wigs."

Mal sighed. She didn't like the fact that the two twins were hiding something from her, but Liv did have a point. They didn't have a lot of time before the talk show returned, and she was not looking forward being on camera again. "Fine, but I have a much faster way than trying to find wigs." She turned to Liv. "Beware, foreswear replace the old with purple hair." Almost instantly, Liv's hair turned purple, just like Mal's.

* * *

The crowd cheered as Liv walked out. Nobody was the wiser that a switch had occurred. She smiled as she gently sat down in the seat.

"Welcome back!" Keith said. "So Liv, while walking in here you seemed to have a renewed sense of confidence as you walked in her. Care to explain what spurred this onset of motivation?"

"Well... I am a little nervous about this role," Liv said. "Maleficent is such a big role, unlike any big role I have had before. There are just so many emotions, and you need the right sense of rage and evilness. Thankfully, I have a friend helping me out with that."

"Oh, really?" Keith asked. "And who might that be?"

"Well, I can't exactly say at the moment," Liv answered, not wanting to give away Mal's identity just yet. "But let's just say that she's like another sister to me."

* * *

The rest of the interview went so smoothly that it seemed like it was seconds long. Before Liv knew it, the host stood up. "Well, it was great meeting with you Liv."

"You too, Keith," Liv said. "And might I add that you look spectacular in this tie."

"Why thank you," Keith said before turning towards the camera. "Sleeping Beauty the Musical will primer in August. For Channel 30 Entertainment, I'm Keith Ortega."

Once the cameras stopped rolling, Liv shook hands with Keith and walked offstage, where Maddie and Mal were waiting. "How did I do?"

"You did great, as always," Maddie answered.

"You did even better than I did," Mal added with a smile.

Liv smiled back before she remembered that she would have to tell Mal that her mother was fictional in this world. "Mal, about what the host was saying..."

Mal held up her hand. "Liv, it's fine. Maddie already explained it to me."

Liv raised an eyebrow, slightly worried of what Maddie told Mal, give the conversation they had earlier. "She did?"

"I told her that it could be a coincidence," Maddie said. "I also said that maybe since this is an alternate universe maybe some worlds are fictional here and real elsewhere. I mean, maybe somewhere else we're a movie or TV show."

Maddie's choice of words were a bit funny, since they did have their own reality show once, but still, Liv thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, that does make sense."

"Don't worry, I already feel better than I already did before," Mal said. "So, now what?"

Maddie shrugged. "Well, we could do anything really. But how about ice cream?"

Mal nodded. "Sounds good to me. Just let me go somewhere private so I can spell my hair back to normal. It's already starting to bring back... less than pleasant memories for me."

Once Mal walked off, Liv turned to Maddie. "Hey, thanks."

"I may not know for sure whether Auradon exists or not," Maddie said. "But I figured that she's already been through a lot and could use some comforting."

Liv put an arm around her sister's shoulder. "You did the right thing."

* * *

"And then I found her doing a fashion show in our room!" Liv exclaimed before they all burst out laughing. The little ice cream outing turned into a girls day out, and the sun was setting by the time they got home, eating ice cream cones and exchanging stories.

"I looked awful!" Maddie added. "It was probably for the best that we got rid of those shoes."

Mal scoffed. "This may be coming from a girl whose best friend turned her half into a fashion store, but was it really that bad?"

Maddie held back a laugh. "To the point where Liv threatened to drop the shoes into a wood chipper."

"And that's how we learned to be more careful with Maddie's inner sparkle," Liv concluded before pointing towards Mal's feet. "Speaking of shoes, I never mentioned that I loved your boots. Mind if I borrow them sometime?"

Mal shrugged. "Sure. We have the same face, why not the same shoe size?"

Maddie looked around they living room. "I wonder where Parker and Joey are. It's supposed to get dark soon." However, no sooner then had she said those words an explosion went off, shaking the whole house, followed by Joey and Parker stumbling in, their hair sticking on ends, and their faces were covered in ash and soot.

"Sorry about that," Parker said. "Had a little mishap."

"But we should get to Auradon in a few days!" Joey said, ignoring a glare from Parker. Maddie resisted the urge to role her eyes. If Auradon did exist, it better be worth it.

 **Whew, that is probably one of the longest chapters that I've written. Since I started writing this before Descendants 3 came out, I will not be including the events of Descendants 3 in here. In other news, we are almost done with the first part of the story. Next chapter, the particle accelerator will be complete, then the second part will take place in Auradon/The Isle of the Lost.**


End file.
